Slavic heritage celebrated at museum dedication

Pamela Wood, The Baltimore Sun

A fledgling museum dedicated to preserving Polish and Slavic heritage and culture was dedicated in Baltimore on Sunday.

The National Slavic Museum at 1735 Fleet St. in Fells Point is staffed by volunteers. The small museum's collection includes items from several Slavic countries, many with religious themes — paintings of Jesus Christ, Bibles, crucifixes and a cabinet for holding holy water.

"We have a lot more to collect. We just started," said the Rev. Ivan Dornic, a priest who helped found the museum. He believes the museum is the only one of its kind devoted to Slavic culture in America.

Dornic said he hopes the museum eventually outgrows its home, in a former Polish social hall adjacent to his daughter's Ze Mean Bean Café. Museum backers tried unsuccessfully to buy the former St. Stanislaus Kostka Church nearby after it closed in 2000.

The free museum is open Wednesdays through Fridays from noon until 6 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.